


Speak of the Trapped

by HeroSavesPeople



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), westallen
Genre: Angst, F/M, HS AU, High School AU, Mystery, Romance, WA AU, teenage westallen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-04-08 05:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14098017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeroSavesPeople/pseuds/HeroSavesPeople
Summary: When Iris stops responding to her messages and doesn't show up to school, Barry is desperate for answers.  Her return leaves him just as lost as Barry tries to understand what happened to the girl he loves in those days she was gone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, my lord, I suck at summaries, but oh well? Thank you to those that supported my previous works! You guys are inimitably wonderful. ♥

Barry scans his calculus problems once more before shutting his textbook with a flourish.  "Done!"

He scrambles to put his books away, glancing up at Iris who was reclined on his bed.  He made himself sit at his desk as he finished up his homework because laying across the bed with her was proving to be way too distracting.  If he was going to have a fighting chance of maintaining his four-point oh while dating Iris West, he would have to keep a reasonable distance between themselves while studying.  But, now that the last of it was done, he was going to most definitely treat himself to her company.

He wheels his chair over to the end of his bed and grabs her bare foot.  "Journalism or Lit?" he asks, placing a kiss on her sole before setting it back down.  He didn't want to distract her, but he was hoping maybe he could speed along her progress.

But, Iris doesn't respond, instead looking at her computer screen vacantly.  Barry takes her big toe and jostles her foot.  "Iris?"

She looks at him, startled.  "Hm?  What's going on?"

Barry furrows his brow and repeats the question, stroking her ankle.  "Are you working on journalism or Lit?  I can help if you want."  He knew she didn’t need it and wouldn't take him up on it, but he was eager for some time with her.

Iris looks down at her computer as though just realizing it was sitting on her lap.  She snaps the lid close and sighs.  "No, I'm actually done with homework.  I didn't want to distract you."

She shoves the laptop to the side and slides further down the bed until her head lolls on the pillow.  Barry grows concerned as she looks out the window almost listlessly.  The sky outside was getting darker as the sun begins setting.

Barry scrutinizes her for a moment before joining her on the bed and sitting beside her supine body.  He reaches for her hand on her stomach.  "Hey," he says quietly.  "You ok?"

Iris merely hums in reply, her gaze still staring out the window.  Barry takes a deep breath, trying to settle the nerves fluttering in his body all of a sudden. "Iris?  This isn't-I mean, is it about what we talked about yesterday?"

That catches her attention and she turns to look at him with questioning eyes.  "What do you mean?"

"About um…well, about our plans after the winter formal?"  He averts his gaze for a moment as the flush creeps up his neck.  He didn’t know why he was shy about it considering they already had a conversation about it, practically making a whole itinerary planning… _that_ night. But, he pushes his own nerves aside to give attention to her feelings.  "Because if you don't want to anymore, that's completely fine, Iris, I understand."

The faraway look in Iris's eyes fades into one of soft affection.  She sits up just enough to rub a soothing hand on his shoulder while the other cups the side of his face.  "Oh Barry, no it's not about that at all," she says shaking her head.  "I still want to as long as you do."

She tilts her chin up and kisses him gently.  Barry's eyes flutter closed, his hands wrapping around her, his body warming with a rush of love and desire.  "Oh," he breathes dreamily.  "I do, I definitely do."  He opens his eyes to look at her seriously for a moment.  "But, I want to make sure you're ok and ready.  I know I've been getting a little…excited, that's kind of inevitable when I'm with you but I'm not a neanderthal, I can control myself—"

Iris stops his ramblings short with a muffled giggle against his lips.  She kisses him deeply and inhales sharply, tilting her head to slide his lips between hers.  His stomach clenches as he traces the contours of her body, pressing her tightly against him.  He swears he could get lost in her forever, lost in her taste, her perfume, her everything. 

She pulls away slowly and waits for him to open his eyes.  She holds his face in her warm hands when he does and pours all her adoration into him.  "I don't want you to control yourself.  Not with me.  I love you and I want you.  Trust me, I'm not having second thoughts"

Barry nods against her forehead, letting some of the tension ease from his shoulders before pulling away slightly.  "But, there is something on your mind, Iris.  What is it?"

She lets out a deep breath, averting her gaze as she fiddles with the hem of his plaid button down.  "My mom wants to go on a trip.  With me," she finally says.

"Well,…that's great isn't it?  I mean, you've been saying how you barely see her these days."  The tension makes way for confusion as Barry tries to understand why that would upset Iris.

"Yeah, I guess.  It's just kind of out of the blue.  She's been out of it lately and now all of a sudden she wants to bond and take me out of school for a couple of days to do it?"

"Wait, she's taking you out of school?  For how long?"

"I don't know, she said no more than four days. She wants to go on a road trip or something, saying how we haven't been spending enough time with one another.  Which is true," Iris contests, looking slightly bothered.  "But still, it's strange.  Feels weird."

Barry furrows his brows, the crease deepening between them.  "When are you guys going?"

"Tomorrow."

" _Tomorrow_?" He gapes.  "That's kind of short notice, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, you're telling me."

"Well, do you want to go?"

"I don't know, I mean, maybe?  Maybe it will be good for us.  I haven't seen much of her ever since she joined that women's entrepreneurship group thing and it's felt weird not having mom and dad around the house.  It'll be nice to spend some quality time with her."

Barry frowns and rubs his hand across her back.  Iris _had_ been spending more time at his house than they have been at hers.  He had been wondering what was going on with her parents these days.

"Is everything ok with your parents?  Mom was wondering why they haven't come over for dinner the last couple of times."

"Yeah, I know, she told me," Iris gives him a half-smile.  "But, dad's working on a new case that's been hitting him hard.  You know that look I told you he sometimes has when he comes home?"  Barry nods, having seen it himself a couple of times through the years.  "Yeah, it's one of those.  And then moms got her group thing so it's been pretty chaotic for them lately."

Barry hums in understanding before shrugging his shoulders.  "Then maybe this trip is a good thing.  It'll give you time to catch up with your mom and enjoy a bonding moment."  He reaches for her ribs and lightly tickles her. " Bring me back something cool wherever you're going," he says, not actually wanting anything other than her hasty return.

Iris squirms in his embrace and giggles.  His heart warms at the sight of her, happy that he was able to pull a smile out of her.  "Sure, I'll bring you back the nerdiest thing I can find."

He growls playfully and tackles her onto the bed, Iris's squeal ringing in his ear.  "Exactly."

He presses a long kiss to her lips before rubbing his nose against hers.  "I'm going to miss you at school,” he says sincerely, not looking forward to walking the halls without her and certainly not spending the entire weekend alone.  “Who's going to make sure I get to class on time?"

"Hmm guess you'll have to find a way, buddy.  Besides, it's only two days, they'll zoom by before you know it."

"Doubtful."

He feels her heart race underneath him as she smiles with that look in her eyes that was just for him.  He never gets tired of it on her.  That look of unconditional love and devotion that makes him feel like the luckiest guy alive.

"I'll see you Sunday, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that."

He whispers the words softly against her lips, before he lets himself get lost in her all over again, his pulse racing.  As he slips his hand under her top until it rests against her heart, Barry was already counting down the hours until he would see her again.

But, Barry wouldn't see her that Sunday or even the following day.  Not until the night he sees her from his bedroom window walking up to her house with a blank look on her face escorted by her father.  

 


	2. Something Amiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally made it to the second chapter. Was feeling very uninspired with this story for awhile but you guys are wonderful and I really tried to churn something out. Thank you so much for the lovely words! I hope this is worth the wait :)

Barry stirs awake, the low ringing of his alarm clock sounding persistently from underneath the piles of blankets on him.  He fumbles drowsily until he finally grasps it and looks at the time. 4am.

He slowly shifts the comforter off of him before getting out of bed.  His eyes are barely open as he moves about his room, locating his sweater before putting it on.  He clumsily tugs on his thick wool socks on next for cushion.

He walks up to his window and roughly rubs the sleep away from his face, making sure he's a bit more alert.  He didn't exactly want to fall to his death. Well, that’s a bit dramatic but either way he didn't want to fall five feet and be found sprawled by his neighbors.

He slides his window open before stepping out onto the roof, shivering in the night air. He walks across the roof until he reaches the tree and grasps the nearby branch.  As he shifts his weight, Barry shakes his head vigorously to shake the sleep away before setting his socked foot on another branch. Slowly, but carefully he maneuvers around the tree, carefully ambling across the long branch until he reaches the roof of the house beside his own and leaps onto it.  He's clumsy in his descent and lands on one of his knees.

"Ah goddamn!" he bursts out in a hushed scream.  He groans in pain as he quickly steadies himself and begins carefully walking toward the window.  He pulls it open and climbs into the room before securing it shut and turning the lock in place.

Normally, he disapproves of Iris leaving her window unlocked and cracked.  She'd say she likes airing out the room and bringing in fresh air every time he scolds her about it, however despite living in a safe neighborhood, Barry didn't like the idea of Iris being vulnerable to the world with her window open.  But, this is one of the times he supposes it worked in his favor since his visit was a surprise this time.

He turns and looks toward the bed where the soft glow from the moonlight shines down on the body underneath the covers.  Even in his half-sleep state he feels the calm that inevitably descends upon his heart around Iris West and without another thought he carefully climbs into bed behind her.

He tries hard not to stir her, but she does anyway as he fits himself snugly behind him, wrapping his arms around her warm body.  He burrows his face into the back of her head, letting the softness of her hair warm him.

"Barry?" she murmurs sleepily.

"Were you expecting someone else?  Do I have to beat someone up?" he mumbles.

She hums softly, rubbing the arm wrapped around her waist.  "What's wrong?"

He inhales deeply, breathing in the sweet perfume of her skin and hair.  "S'nothing. Just wanted to see you before you go."

"My cutie."

"Always been yours," he murmurs sleepily before they both drift into a peaceful slumber.

About two hours later when they're both standing by her window, wrapped up in each other, Barry presses her closer until she's as close as she can get.  "Miss you already."

He pushes back a lock of her hair and gently caresses her face with the backs of his fingers before letting them get lost in her hair.

"I'll text you and keep you posted on where I am.  That way it'll be like you're there with me."

Barry sighs and pulls his lips into a slight smile.  "No, don't worry about me. Seriously, you should take advantage of this time with your mom.  I'll survive."

"Ok good because I was going to say, I'll be having the time of my life and I just won't have time to think about you," Iris smiles up at him with mirth in her eyes, scrunching her nose.  "Sorry, babe."

"Yeah, yeah," Barry says with a smirk.  "But, I'm serious, don't worry about me.  I was only half kidding when I said I'd be an utter mess without you.  Try to have fun with your mom."

"Thanks babe," Iris murmurs before sighing.  "I will."

Barry nods.  "It's going to be great."  He glances over the clock with his still bleary eyes.  "I have to get ready for school," he says with a frown.  "Call me tonight?"

Iris tightens her arms around his neck and kisses him hard, the force jerking his head back a little.  "Most definitely. Oh and please, please don't forget to cover me at the paper after school. Linda will be doing the bulk of the work anyway, so all you have to do is pitch my story for me."

"Don't worry, I've got your back West.  For your information, I actually already read up on your notes on why Columbus Day should be renamed for the Remembrance of Native Americans.  I wholeheartedly agree, by the way so you've got my vote."

"Why thank you, Mr. Allen, I do appreciate the support of concerned citizens.  I printed off some more notes and put them in your bag. It's a green folder."

Barry's eyes flicker to her desk behind her and nods his head toward it.  "Do you mean that green folder?"

Iris turns around, her eyes widening.  "Uh no, not that one. That's next week's pitch."  She looks back at him with a bright smile, but Barry's keen eyes could see there was something off about it.

He narrows them in suspicion.  "Iris, what are you up to?"

"Nothing!"

"You're not trying chase a story that's going to lead to trouble again, are you?"

Iris tilts her head with a bored look.  "No, I am not, Bartholomew."

"Oh no."

"Mm-hmm, _Bartholomew_ , so hush now and give me a kiss."

Barry was not about to provoke her ire before she was off on a road trip so without another word he happily complies and kisses her deeply. He gets lost as he always does, pressing his lips hard as he leans into her close.  He really had to go before her parents woke up, but he couldn’t find it in himself to pull away.

Iris pulls back slowly and gently rubs his shoulder.  "You've got to go," she says softly.

He hums in reply, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he licks her neck, the flat of his tongue sliding against her skin.  "Just a taste to get me through the long weekend," he murmured huskily.

Iris lets out a shaky laugh, her head lolling back against the wall.  "You're such a flirt, Allen."

Barry can't help the burst of laughter that he immediately tries to quiet, lest he alert the Wests to his presence.  He doubts Joe West would like him as much if he caught Barry necking with his only daughter in her room so early in the morning.  "Yeah, I'm a regular Casanova."

He shakes his head in amusement.  He wonders if she'll ever realize what she does to him, how she makes his stomach flutter every moment he's with her and his heart glow in a way that makes him do and say stupid, goofy things.  "Only for you."

"Ok, now you have scram before my mom comes in to check on me."

Barry sighs heavily.  "Ok, ok," he says, reluctantly pulling his arms away from her.  He backs away toward the window, keeping his eyes on her smiling face as pulls open the window.

He sits on the window ledge, his leg out on the roof while a hand holds the window up and doesn't turn away.

She shakes her head with affection in her eyes.  "Watch where you're climbing. I'd like to come back to a Barry Allen in one piece, thanks."

"Yeah, yeah."

"And don’t forget the paper!  Linda has a lot on her plate, so please help her out."

Barry laughs in amusement.  That paper was her pride. "I'll take care of your baby, don't worry."

And with one last longing gaze he steps out carefully onto her roof and makes his way back to his room across the tree.

 

*******

 

The day at school passed in an agonizingly slow manner as Barry fights the temptation to stay glued to his phone.  He had gotten a text from Iris at some point during the day saying they had stopped by the Kennedy Museum of Art where Iris had always loved going when they were younger.  Accompanied by the text was a picture of herself standing just inside the building where the architecture of the building was in display.

He had grinned widely at her goofy face and sent back a heart eyes emojis in response before putting away his phone, determined not to hog her time with her mom by sending her texts.  

But, that didn't stop him from his distracting thoughts during chem lab, which was mercifully the last class of the day.

"Hey man, did you do the pre-lab questions for tomorrow?"

Barry breaks out of his thought with a start and looks at Cisco.  "What?"

"The pre-lab questions.  Did you do them?"

"Oh yeah, here."   Barry pulls out his folder out of his backpack and sets his homework on their lab desk.

"Number four was a trick question, wasn't it?  Because I looked over it ten times and the answer could be either—"

"Enantiomers or optical isomers, yeah.  Pretty sure it's a typo," Barry replies distractedly.

"Yeah, exactly," Cicso says, sticking his sheet back into his folder.  He looks at Barry in amusement. "So, where's your better half?"

Barry shuffles his homework and sticks it into bag.  "She's on a road trip with her mom. She's going to be gone until Sunday night."

"Huh.  What for?"

"Just mother-daughter bonding time.  They haven't really been able to spend much time together lately.  I think something's up with Iris's parents."

Cisco turns in his seat in concern.  "For real? What do you think it is?"

Barry catches Cisco's sympathetic expression and knows he's worried Iris is dealing with what he had to when his father walked out on them.  Barry shrugs and pulls his lips into a frown. "Dunno, she won't say. I just hope everything's ok."

"Yeah, me too."

Barry glances at the folder Iris had left for him and remembers.  "Oh hey, so I promised Iris I'd go to the newspaper meeting after school today.  Will you come with?"

"Doesn't Linda take over things in Iris's absence?"

"Yeah, but she gave me a bunch of notes she's been working on and wants me to present them on her behalf."

Cisco gawks at him before letting out a burst of laughter.  " _You_?  Giving a presentation voluntarily?"  

Barry rolls his eyes with a quirk of his lips.  "Don't say it," he says.

Cisco holds his hands up in surrender and tilts his head.  "Hey, I wasn't going to say anything. But, yeah I'll come with.  And then after you're getting me some fro-yo."

"Deal."

The bell rings signaling the end of class.  Barry stuffs his books into his backpack, zipping his bag haphazardly before hiking it onto his shoulder.

"So, I heard that Alan Fennel is back home from the hospital," Cisco says as they walk out of class.

They make their way through the crowd of eager students, heading toward the newsroom.

Barry raises his eyebrows.  "Oh yeah?

Alan Fennel was rumored to have fallen ill after visiting his grandparents out of town one weekend.  No one really knew what was wrong except that they suspected it was some kind of bacterial infection that landed him in the hospital for two weeks.  He only knew because Iris and Cisco were good at keeping him posted on the going ons at their school.

Cisco nods, dodging a passing student in the hallway.  "Yep, heard it through the grapevines that he was released last night and that he'll need another week to recuperate before he can come back to school."

"Wow, that's good to hear.  But, he's all checked out?"

"Yeah, I mean it's not like he needs to be quarantined or something.  But the school put up sign up sheets if anyone wants to volunteer to tutor him."

Barry glances at him with a wry grin.  "Let me guess, you didn't sign up."

Cisco pulls a face of disdain.  "Nope. I mean, I feel for the dude, but his brother's got beef with mine and it would be like stepping into enemy lines, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it.  How is Dante, by the way?"

Cisco shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant.  "Sober, hopefully."

Barry frowns sympathetically as they walk into the newsroom.  "Hey, I'm sure—"

Cisco waves him off.  "It's fine, Barry. I'd rather not rehash what my brother's been up to and just hope for the best instead."

Barry looks at his friend, wishing there was something he could say, but knew that Dante was always a sore spot for Cisco.  While Cisco had confided in Barry and Iris, he never went into the details and anytime the subject was brought up, he'd clam up.

So instead, settling in his seat, he clamps a hand on Cisco's shoulder and jostles him slightly.  "So since I'm getting the fro-yo, we're watching The Empire Strikes Back tonight."

Cisco whips his head around and looks at him aghast.  His expression is so dramatic that a passing student pauses to look at him.    " _Excuse_ me, we are _not._  We are watching Voyager.  Only reason you're getting the fro-yo is because I'm at this meeting."

Barry chuckles as he bobs his head, digging through his backpack.  "Yeah, yeah," he says. Suddenly his face drops and he begins digging through his bag with more fervor.  "Oh no, no, no…"

"What's up?"

"Iris's folder.  It’s not here." He straightens abruptly, looking toward the door.  "It must've fallen out when I was packing up. Cover for me will you?"

"Will do," Cisco says with a salute.  He watches in amusement, shaking his head as Barry practically trips rushing out of his chair and out the door.

Barry speeds down the hallway, retracing his steps just in case the folder fell out of his bag at some point.  The more ground he covered, the more anxious he became, wondering if he already lost the folder and therefore failing in the one thing Iris asked of him.

He makes it back to the classroom and with a relief spotted it at the back of the now empty classroom, some papers having spilled out of it.  He shakes his head, muttering under his breath as he walks over, his heart slowing down and finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Fricken idiot."

He stoops down to gather up the papers when something catches his eye.  A newspaper article had fallen out of the folder and while Barry had been expecting to read something about Christopher Columbus, there was a headline that read "Mimic Drug Uprising in Coast City" instead.

Barry furrows his brow and opens up the folder soon realizing that Iris had actually given him the wrong one.  Because in the stuffed pockets, filled with notes in Iris's cursive and printouts was a map of Iris's thoughts and it seemed her attentions were on the deaths of five teenagers in Keystone.

He flips a page in her notes with the intent of reading more when a familiar voice in the hallway distracts him.  His ears perk up, wondering if he had heard right.

"Thank you, Harry," the voice says.

Barry quickly shuffles the pages into the folder and walks out of the classroom.  Sure enough, there was Joe West walking out of Principle Wells's office.

Joe West was an imposing and intimidating man, standing tall at six feet and four inches that when Barry had first met him, he could feel himself shrinking under Mr. West's scrutiny despite his own tall height.  However, soon after Barry had found that Detective Joe West was actually a big softy and welcomed him like he was family.

So when Barry sees Joe, his face splits into a smile.  "Hey, what are you doing here?" he asks, walking up to him.

Joe turns abruptly as though startled.  It was a strange sight because after years of working as a detective on the force, it was definitely not an easy task catching him off guard.

"Bar, hey," he says strangely.  "I was just coming in to uh, just let the school know that Iris would be out for a couple of days.  Thought I'd pick up her school work."

Barry's eyes flicker to Joe's empty hands and he picks up on that.  Joe awkwardly fiddles with his hands as he smiles. "But then, I figured you probably already have that covered."

Barry ducks his head bashfully.  "Yeah, I thought I'd bring them by today after school or I could just bring them on Sunday when Iris gets back."

Joe straightens.  "Sunday," he says.  "Right, when Iris comes back.  Is that what she told you?"

"Yeah, why?  Is that not when she's coming back?"  Barry tries to keep the disappointment from showing, wondering if Iris was planning on being away longer than four days.

"Oh no, it's fine.  I'm pretty sure her mother mentioned Sunday."

"Oh.  Ok." Barry isn't sure if he was reading into it, but there was something forced about Joe's smile, something about the way he was shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another.  Barry had known Joe for a long time now and there was definitely something off. "Is everything ok?"

"What?" Joe asks abruptly.  "Yeah-yeah, of course. I have to head back to work, but I'll see you soon."

Without waiting for a reply, Joe walks away, his stride sturdy as ever.

Barry stares at his back, wondering what had just occurred before he remembered the folder in his hands.  With a slight jump, he races back to the newsroom, pushing aside Joe West's odd behavior.

 

*******

 

"So, how did the pitch meeting go?"

Barry presses the phone to his ear.  "Oh I just threw up and distracted everyone from having to say anything so it's all good.  They're running the story," he says casually, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Barry," she scolds.

He's sure she can hear the smirk in his voice as he swivels around in his desk chair.

"It went perfect.  Perfect as in everyone loved it and wanted to run the story.  Not perfect as in I literally tripped and fell as I was making my way over to my seat."

Iris let out a burst of giggles, the warm sound pleasing to his ears.  "Aww you poor baby. Are you alright?"

"Yeah my elbow just smarts, but other than that it went very well, if I do say so myself.  You would have been proud Reporter West."

"I _am_ proud.  Thank you for doing this for me."

Barry feels his face heat up at her praise even as his eyes flicker to the green folder on his desk.  He really wants to ask her about it but is worried that it may lead to a tiff and the last thing he wanted was to get into a heated debate over the phone.  "Anytime," he murmurs instead, walking over to plop on his bed. "Now you're turn. Tell me all about what you guys did today."

"Stopped by a bunch of museums along the way and parks.  We drove past this beautiful church that mom wants to check out in the morning.  We’re going to spend more time in Toledo since we only just got here and then keep moving north."

"How far up you guys going?"

"Looks like we're going to hit Michigan, but probably not too far since we'll have to come back in time for Sunday," she says distractedly, trailing off.

She pauses for a moment.  "Iris?"

"Yeah, um, the trip is going ok, I guess."

He furrows his brows, detecting something off in her tone. "Just ok?  What's wrong?"

There's another pause and Barry wishes he could see her face.  He could always tell something was wrong when he saw her face.

"I don't know.  It just feels like mom doesn't even want to be here.  And just now she stepped out saying that she was going to get some food even though we just had dinner.  And the only reason we even came back to the motel was because she was tired."

"Maybe she got hungry?"

Iris hums doubtfully.  "I don’t think so. She seemed so cagey all day…and I'm worried."

The concern in her voice triggers his own as a weight falls upon his chest.  "What do you think is the matter?"

"I don't know, but I have to find out soon because it's eating away at me."

The weight feels heavier.  Iris always had the best instincts of anyone he knows and he believes her when she says something is amiss.   But, the last thing he wants is Iris to deal with something harrowing while he can’t be there for her. "Hey look, Iris, maybe you should let her tell you when she's ready.  If she's keeping something from you, it's probably for your own good."

"These days, I'm not so sure about that."  There's a hint of bitterness in her voice as she releases a heavy sigh.  "I should let you go. It's late."

"No, it's ok, I'm not tired."  A traitorous yawn escapes his lips and he pulls away the phone lest Iris hears.

"Babe, I heard that," she says with a hint of amusement.  "Get some rest and call me at lunch, ok?"

Barry fails to suppress another wide yawn as he crawls under his blanket before shutting off the lamp.  "I miss you."

"I miss you too.  Just another three more days."

He hesitates for only a brief moment.  "Iris, it's going to be ok. Whatever’s going on with your mom?  You'll work it out."

"Yeah.," she whispers and Barry shuts his eyes in the dark.  "Get some sleep."

Barry switches his phone to the other side, tucking it between his ear and pillow.  "Stay on the line?" he asks sleepily.

Her quiet giggle filters to his ears and he lets it lull him to sleep.  "Love you, Barry."

"Love you too."  

 

That’s the last he hears from her in days.


	3. Send a Signal

The next day at lunch, Barry waves at Cisco and Caitlin as they make their way to the cafeteria while he beelines for the courtyard.  He had woken up that morning to a text from Iris.

_Heading out for the day, call me when you can!  Xoxo_

Barry quickly typed out a message before getting ready.  He had a biology exam he had to study for and as the the hours ticked by, the stress of the exam momentarily distracted him from Iris.

But now with the exam done, he’s only mildly curious that Iris hadn’t texted him all that day, even to wish him luck on the test.  It wasn’t the biggest of deals, but it was something he’d come to expect through the years even before they started dating. For as long as he could remember, Iris would always send him a message of luck—a handwritten note stuffed in his locker or backpack and now a message on his phone. 

But it’s only a stray thought as he scooches back, getting comfortable against the brick wall as he calls Iris.  The relief he felt from post exam amplifies as he anticipates talking to Iris and filling in her in on what she missed that day.  But that slowly fades as the phone keeps ringing and ringing before ending with her voicemail.

_Hi, you've got Iris.  If you've got a hot tip, leave a message.  If it's an emergency then try the grumpier West._

Barry frowns, trying her again.  But again, the phone goes to voicemail within moments.  Befuddled, he sends her a message before rejoining the others.

Cisco looks up in surprise.  "That was quick."

"She didn't pick up," Barry shrugs, taking a seat beside him.

“She’s probably at a museum or something," Caitlin says.  "They make you silence your phone during the tours."

Cisco points at her.  "There's that."

Barry nods in agreement but two hours later, at the end of the day, he still hasn't heard from her.

"This isn't weird, is it?  I mean, the fact that she hasn't answered my call?"

He's walking back to his car with Cisco when the words slip out.  He had been doing a good job of not overthinking it until the end of the day when he checked his phone and there was still no word from Iris.  No text, no phone call, nothing.

Cisco shrugs.  "I don't know. I mean, maybe it's actually a good thing and she and her mom are hitting it off?"

Barry mulls over the words even as the constriction in his chest remains.  "I suppose so."

"She'll probably call you tonight."

"Yeah," he says distractedly.

But, she didn’t call him that night.  Or even the following day. It was Saturday—just one day before she was set to return home—despite Barry's many attempts to reach her, there was nothing.  The anxiousness began to eat away at him that he tried calling Joe at their home. But there was no response there either.

Barry sat agitated at dinner, looking down at his phone every so often hoping that it would come to life with a response from Iris.  But it never does.

"Barry, sweetie, is everything ok?  You barely touched your food all night."

Barry looks up at his mother and sees that both his parents were looking at him over their glasses in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbles, looking down at his food glumly.  He's quiet for a moment sighing and deciding to drop the façade.  "Actually, I don't know."

His father leans closer.  "What's going on slugger?"

"I haven't heard from Iris since yesterday morning and I don’t know, I'm worried."

His mother reaches across the table and grabs his hand.  "Oh honey, I'm sure she's just busy spending time with her mother."

"That's what I thought at first, but we at least check in everyday and I've tried calling her but she hasn't responded.  It's been two whole days." Two more days than they had ever gone without talking to each other since they met eleven years ago.   

"Well, they're on the road, right?  A lot can happen. Maybe they lost juice or are in a dead zone," his father says.

A dead zone.  He supposes that would make sense.  But wouldn't Iris have tried to get in touch with him?  Unless she doesn't know he's not getting her messages. Barry rubs the back of his head in frustration.

His father pats his shoulder.  "Look, why don't you give it a little more time and if you still don't hear back, we'll talk to Joe."

"I've called Joe at home,” he mumbles before looking up suddenly.  "Maybe I could go over there now and see—"

"Joe's not home, son.  The driveways empty."

"I could go over to the precinct."

His parents exchange a worried look.  His mother lets out a sigh with a small smile.  "Honey, I think you should hold on until we can talk to him.  We shouldn't ambush him at work."

"It'll only just be a minute, I won't bother him for long."

His parents exchange a glance before his dad looks at him.  "Bar, just wait until tomorrow, ok? It would be inappropriate."

"But I won’t—"

"Barry…"

Barry opens his mouth to protest again before letting out a sharp exhale, his shoulders drooping.  "In that case, I'm not hungry. I'd like to be excused, please."

His mother nods, taking off her glasses.  "Go ahead, I'll save your dinner."

He barely waits for her to finish her sentence before he scoots his chair back and races up to his room.  He sits down heavily at the edge of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees as his hands come up to roughly rub his face.  He turns to check his phone and with his heart in his throat, he calls again.

He was becoming all too familiar with the minute long ringing before hearing her voicemail, but this time was different.  The phone only rang for a brief moment before going to straight to voicemail…as though someone declined the call.

A lump forms in his throat as his jaw tenses.  Without another thought, he grabs his car keys and throws on his jacket as he bolts out of his room.

His parents look up when he comes down.  "I just need to get some supplies for school," he says to them, his hands tight around his keys.  "I won't be gone long."

His parents look at him for a moment and as their knowing gaze rests upon him, he knows they’ve seen through the lie.  He gears up to protest but then his mother nods.

"Just be quick, alright?  It's late."

He masks his surprise before kissing his mom on the cheek.  "I won't be long."

The usual twenty minutes to the precinct was cut in half in his haste as Barry sped down the road.  His normal consideration for traffic laws were forgotten in his turbulent state but despite that, he feels as though the minutes were ticking by agonizingly.  Every light he came across seemed to be a red and every car felt as though they were going below the speed limit.

But despite the lights, he makes it to the precinct in record time and immediately beelines for Joe's desk only to find it empty.  He looks around, trying to find someone to talk to when he hears a shout.

"Hey kid!  What are you doing in here?"

Barry turns around and spots a tall man walking toward him.  He vaguely remembers him from a barbecue the Wests had at their house. Captain Singh, he thinks.

He watches as Captain Sigh narrows his eyes at Barry as though trying to place his face before realization settles in.  "You're that Allen kid. Iris's boyfriend from Joe's barbecue."

"Good memory."

"Comes with the job."  Having recognized Barry, Captain Sigh's features relax as he looks at him curiously.  "What are you doing around here?"

"Actually, I was just looking for Joe.  I need to talk to him about something."

"Joe's not here.  He's working on a case out of town."

"Out of town?" Barry echoes as dread fills him.  Joe was the only one that could reassure him beside Iris herself.  "What kind of case?"

Captain Sigh looks at him mildly amused and skeptical.  "You know I can't talk to you about that, kid."

"But…" Barry looks around in frustration.  "I really need to talk to him."

"Well, have you tried his phone?"

"Just his home, but he didn't pick up for obvious reasons now."

Captain Singh watches him with careful eyes.  "Everything alright?"

Barry looks up and considers sharing his worries, but then rethinks it.  It's one thing to express his concerns to his parents, it's another to go to the cops about it.

"Um yeah, it's fine.  Just wanted to talk is all."

Captain Singh looks at him as though he doesn't believe him.  "Eight at night. Couldn't wait?"

Barry hesitates.  "I…I don't know," he says, feeling suddenly self-conscious under Captain Singh's probing gaze.

Captain Singh looks at his watch before letting out a sigh and guiding him toward a nearby chair.  Barry takes the seat while Singh leans against the desk. "What's going on?"

Barry swallows thickly.  "I'm worried about Iris," he says looking up from his lap.  Barry could have sworn he sees Singh's face drop the smallest amount before he schools his features.

"What has you worried?"

"Look, it might sound stupid, but I haven’t heard from Iris since yesterday morning.  She sent a text at five in the morning, telling me to call her when I could and when I tried her at lunch she didn't pick up.  I've been calling her since and leaving messages, but nothing." He rubs a hand down the back of his head. "This isn't like her."

Sigh nods.  "Well, from what Joe tells me, she's on a trip with her mother, right?  Maybe she's preoccupied with their plans, maybe they're in a dead zone or maybe…"

Barry probes him with his eyes.  "Maybe what?" he asks, a lump forming in his throat.

Singh scratches his temple awkwardly with a single finger.  "Maybe this is her way of, I don't know, getting some space?"

"Oh god," Barry sighs, closing his eyes in frustration.  "No, this is not that. She wouldn't do it this way." Barry gets up and looks at Singh, the irritation and frustration building up.  "Look, you have the facts, just do something about it. Joe needs to know. I mean, has he even heard from Iris himself?"

Singh shrugs.  "I couldn't tell you.  He's got his hands full, but I imagine if Joe was concerned, we'd all know about it."

Barry takes that into consideration.  That much was true. If Joe West caught a whiff of his daughter being in trouble, he would be raising hell.  It was a small comfort but still, he couldn't shake the uneasiness. An uneasiness that wouldn’t go away until he spoke to Iris himself.

Singh looks at his watch again.  "Ok, well I gotta go, Allen. Get home safe."

"Sure."

As Barry makes his way back home, he wars with himself, trying to figure out a logical reason for all this.  There are probably a hundred of explanations, but at the end of the day, none of it mattered because Iris was MIA and Joe was nowhere near accessible.  There was no one else to turn to.

Barry walks into his house, dejected but with the intent of asking his father for Joe's number when he hears his father talking in the kitchen.  He inches closer to catch what he was saying.

"Hey Joe, it's Henry.  Just checking in to see how things are.  When you get a chance, give me a call, yeah?"

Barry rounds the corner to look at his dad.  "Anything?"

His father looks up from his phone at him and sighs.  "Barry, I'm sure everything is ok. Just be patient, ok?"

Barry looks down at digs his toes into the carpet.  "Yeah," he mumbles.

"Your dinners in the fridge.  Do you want me to heat it up for you?"

Barry shakes his head glumly.  "Not hungry. I'm just going to go to bed."  Without another word, he turns around and makes his way up to his room.

Lying in bed, he looks up at the ceiling in the dark as he tries to slow down his thoughts.  The tension had very much settled in his bones and no matter what he told himself to assuage the worries, it remained like a heavy block upon his chest.

He was attempting to lull himself to sleep, thinking he’ll try something—anything—the following day when his room is suddenly illuminated by a light coming from his bedside table.  He looks over and sees both his phone and tablet glowing from a text notification.

Barry scrambles out of bed and grasps his phone, his eyes seeking Iris's name.  His heart drops in disappointment when he sees Cisco's name shown instead. He doesn't bother to read the text before flopping back in bed, his hand coming up to rub his eyes roughly until his fingers are wet.

And suddenly a thought pops into his mind, interrupting the woeful ones.  He slowly sits up as realization sets in. Grabbing his thick socks from underneath his bed, he quickly puts them on before pulling on his sweater as he walks to his window.  

Throwing open the window, he climbs out.  He passively thinks he should probably slow down as he walks over to the edge of the roof until he reaches the tree.  But he needed to know, he needed to see if it would work.

He makes it onto the West's roof, miraculously without injury and for once, hopes like hell Iris left her window unlocked before leaving.  Either way, he was prepared to pick the lock should he have to.

He tries the window and to his relief, it opens without effort.  He climbs in and takes in her room. Everything looked to be the same as it did that morning he last saw her, just a bit tidier as her bed was made and her duffle was gone.  He closes the window behind him and draws the curtain.

He checks her bedside table first, flashing on his phone's flashlight and pushing aside her books before rummaging around the drawers as quietly as possible.  He knows Joe isn't home and shouldn't be back anytime soon but he wasn't keen on his neighbors catching him breaking into the detective's home.

He moves onto her desk, trying to be careful to move aside the piles of folders and books.  There was a reason why they tended to study at Barry's and he tries to be gentle handling her folders.  One slips off the top of the pile and he holds his breath as the sounds of paper fluttering seem to deafen his hears.  His heart thumps in his chest and he looks between the window and her closed door, looking for signs of life that may have been awoken from the disturbance.  As he looks around, something catches his attention on her desk.

Her tablet.  Iris had said she was taking her laptop on her trip and he had hoped that meant leaving her tablet behind and there it was.  He held his breath as he typed in her password, his eyes squinting from the bright light and the screen opens to the notes app.  He barely spares it a glance before he goes to the home screen, searching for the tracking app.

He waits for it to load up and he swears it's the longest wait of his life, longer than when he waited for Iris to respond when he finally asked her out on a date, longer than the wait when he professed his love for her.

The screen blinks bright and his eyes spot the icon for her phone.  His brows furrow as he pulls the image wider, peering closer at the map.

Just then he hears a sound within the house.  He instinctively presses the tablet against his torso, shielding the light as looks toward the door.  He hears the tell-tale signs of feet walking up the stairs and he his breath hitches.

Without a thought, he slides underneath Iris's bed, switching off the tablet and his flashlight just as the door creaks open.   

From the awkward angle in which he slipped underneath the bed, Barry couldn’t see who had walked into the room.  All he could see was a pair of work shoes, the color barely discernible in the darkness of the room. He tries to twist carefully, without making a sound, and peek out from underneath.

He hears the person open the closet door and rummage around inside before shutting it.  Barry’s heart thunders in his chest and he wonders if he should call 911. Was someone really breaking into a known detective’s home?

There’s a pause and Barry waits with bated breath, the quiet rumbling his nerves.  Then the soft footfalls walk toward the window where a light breeze from the night floats into the room, the curtains just barely billowing.  

The person closes the window with a distinct thud before turning away and heading away from the window.  Barry watches the man’s feet pause by the window before slowly and carefully walking toward the bed. 

Time stands still for a moment and Barry can feel the paralyzing dread descend upon his body.  This was the moment. He either acted now or wait for some unknown doom. Barry carefully stretched his hand out for Iris’s barely-used lacrosse stick, the only possible weapon within reach.  Iris had once upon a time decided to try out for the lacrosse team on a whim and while it didn’t take, he was grateful in that moment she had given it a try. 

His hand closes around the net, slowly and carefully pulling it toward him lest he make a sound as he keeps his eyes trained on the shoes approaching.  His pulse thumps wildly and loudly in his ears, almost deafening. Even the sound of him swallowing felt loud. 

He holds the stick tight, preparing to jab the intruder as he watches the man kneel down, his hand reaching out.  The muscles in his arms jump, ready to strike...but the intruder doesn’t come anywhere near him. Instead, he reaches out toward something out of Barry’s vision.   

He hears the rustling of papers and Barry realizes it’s the folder he had dropped when he came into Iris’s room.  He clenches his jaw in irritation, his heart still thumping painfully against his chest. 

_Go away, go away…_

And as though his prayers were heard, the intruder gets up and Barry hears the folder land on Iris’s desk.  He watches the feet then move out of sight as he makes his way around the bed and toward the door.

Barry takes that chance to see who it is, peeking his head out further and just as the door swings closed, he catches a glimpse of the person.  If his eyes weren’t deceiving him in the dark, Barry could have sworn he saw Joe West walk out. 

Joe, who was supposed to be out of town on a case.  Joe, who hadn’t been answering his phone. 

What was Joe doing in Iris’s room and why wasn’t he out of town like Singh had said?  Who was lying? Barry pauses his thoughts as he waits to hear for movements from down below.  He hears the front door open before closing. Quickly, he turns the tablet back on, the screen appearing on the tracker app.  And there it was. 

Athens.  That was her last known location, specifically the Athens County Fairgrounds.  He doesn’t know whether that was part of their itinerary, but he does know one thing.  That's where he would be going.

He needs to find her.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is shit and for the long wait. I've been distracted by real life stuff and haven't been inspired to write and feel like I lost the ability, but getting some messages about it was the push I needed to keep working at it and I appreciate that so much. You guys are so wonderful and I hope you enjoy this bit ♥


	4. Cold Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry travels to Athens with Cisco's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally edited this, hope you guys like it!. The one upside to my software being a p.o.s for the project I'm working on is that for the next three days I can work on some fic stuff so I'll try to get as much out as possible. Thank you guys so much for being so amazing and patient and supportive as always! Much love ♥

"Iris.  I wish I could hear your voice, I wish I could just know that you were ok.  I don't know what else to do and I'm worried so I'm coming to you…Please, call me."

He hangs up the phone before calling Cisco.  It was six in the morning and he knew Cisco was probably sleeping in, but he didn't know who else to turn to. 

Cisco picks up just as it goes to voicemail grumbling through the line.  "Barry, this better be an emergency."

"It is."

Barry hears movement on the other end and when Cisco speaks into the phone again, his voice is more alert. 

"What's going on, you ok?"

"It's Iris.  I haven't heard from her since Friday morning."

"For real?  I thought she'd have called by now."

"Linda hasn't heard from her, have you?" 

"No."

Barry rubbed his eyes as Cisco confirmed what he already knew. 

"Somethings wrong, Cisco, I can feel it."

"Well, what about the cops?  Have you gone to them?"

"I talked to Captain Singh, but he won't listen.  He works with Joe and said not to worry about anything.  Said if there was something to worry about then Joe'd be all over it."

"But, you don’t believe that."

"No." Barry says resolutely.  "I pinged her phone just outside of Athens and then nothing.  Not trace of her. I mean, let's say hypothetically that she  _ did  _ just lose her phone.  Why hasn't she called me?  Why wouldn't she let me know she was ok?"

Cisco sighs.  "Maybe there isn't a pay phone around?  I mean, those things are ancient and practically dying out." 

But Barry could tell that even Cisco was uncertain about his own explanation by his tone.  Barry shakes his head, dismissing it. 

"She would have found a way.  This isn’t like her."

"Ok, so what do we do?"

"We go to Athens.  Or at least, I do. I don't want to drag you out in case—"

"Dude, it's fine.  I'm coming." He says it with such obvious finality, Barry can't find it in himself to argue.  He really doesn't want to drag Cisco out, especially if it ends up being dangerous, but he couldn't help admit that it would probably help having them there, if only to talk sense into him when Barry inevitably freaks out. 

"Isn't Iris supposed to come back today?" 

"Yeah and if she does, great, but I'm not waiting until tonight to go looking for her.  Something could be wrong and I don’t want to take any chances."

"Alright, I'm in.  When do we go?"

"I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours."

An hour later, he finishes up zipping up his duffel bag when there's a knock on his door.  He hurriedly stuffs his bag under his bed before calling out. 

"Come in!"

He looks up to see his mom walking in. 

"Good morning, I didn't think you were going to be up so soon."

"Guess I knocked out pretty early."

His mom walks over and sits on his bed.  "Sweetie, I know you're worried about Iris.”

He shakes his head and shrugs.  "I mean, yeah, I am but she's supposed to get back today so…"

"That's good news, see?  I was thinking it'd be nice to have Cisco come by today."

"Um, actually mom, is it alright if I stay over at Cisco's tonight? We need to work on a school project that's due tomorrow."

His mom frowns.  "You said Iris is supposed to come back tonight and it's a school night."

Barry tries to school his face and sound confident.  He was an awful liar and felt like his parents could always see through it. 

"The project's fifty percent of our quarterly grade and anyway, I can call Iris from Cisco's." 

His mom looks at him for a moment before nodding.  "Alright, just don't burn yourself out, ok?"

Barry nods, trying to mask his guilt.  She kisses his head and walks out. As soon as the door closes behind her, Barry pulls Iris's tablet out and looks at the blinking dot in Athens. 

***

Cisco looks at the backseat, his eyes catching the pile of folders sitting there.  "What's all that?"

Barry glances back before plugging his phone into the aux port.  "Some of Iris's stuff. She was working on a story that I think she was keeping from me.  Maybe it's all connected."

"You think Iris was onto something and the wrong people found out?"

The cold dread returns as a lump forms in his throat.  "I don't-I don't know. I just have nothing else to go off and this could give me something.  Do you have your charger for the hotspot?" 

"Got it."  Cisco reaches back and grabs the top two folders as Barry pulls out of his driveway.  "So what was Iris working on? There's a bunch of random articles here."

Barry turns the signal and pulls into the highway, glancing at the GPS on his phone.  "That's what they look like at first but she was researching drugs. I don't know what she was looking for exactly.  I don't think she knew either, but she was definitely looking for something."

"And you never got a whiff of her working on something?"  Cisco asks. He asks in a curious manner, trying to work it out, but Barry couldn't help feeling a little stupid. 

"I mean, Iris is always working on something.  She's always reading stories and looking for something worth writing about even if they weren't school-related," he sighs.  "Nothing seemed off until she mentioned the road trip."

Cisco looks over at him.  "Off how?"

"She was distracted the night before.  I feel like the entire time she was there, her mind was somewhere else," he says, thinking back to that night.  His chest tightens in his chest as he feels his throat close up.  _ Please, please don't let that be one of the last moments with her.   _ He clears his throat.  "She said something felt off about her mom."

Cisco's eyes rove over Barry's face and he reaches out a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder.  "What was off about her mom?"

"I guess she's been distant since joining some women's entrepreneurship organization."  He pauses for a moment, thinking. "I feel like something's been going on for awhile now and I've been oblivious."

Cisco suddenly pulls out a sheet of paper.  "Whoa. That's Iris's handwriting, right?"

Cisco holds out the paper to Barry who glances at it before turning back to the road.  "Yeah, I mean they  _ are  _ her notes.

"She wrote down Fennel's name on this journal article."

"Alan Fennel from school?"

"I'm pretty sure, there's only one that we know of."

Barry shakes his head in confusion.  "What's the article about?"

"It's by some PhD in chemistry called Tracy Brand, sound familiar?"

Barry thinks back to some of the light readings he's done, but can't recall a scientist by that name.  "What does she do?"

"According to this study, she hypothesized that there was a new element that existed out there that is not recognized by the periodic table."

"What?  How the hell did I miss that study?"

"Guess your nerd-ar was off," Cisco mumbles as he types something into his laptop.  "Or because there's no digital record of it. Can't find the article anywhere."

"Did you hack the university records?"

"Already done.  Seems like it was never published online."

Barry furrows his brows.  "So that's a either a photocopy or an original.  Either way, I can’t imagine that was easy to get."

"Hey, what did you mean about something being off for awhile?"

"Well you know how my parents and Iris's parents would have pretty regular dinners at each other's places?" 

"Yeah, dinner with the in-laws."

"Iris's parents stopped all that about a couple of months ago and then before that it wasn't as often.  They said that the case Joe was assigned took up all his time and then Francine's new project got time-consuming, but I don't know…maybe they were all signs."

Barry rubbed his forehead, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Anything that adds up in hindsight?"

Barry shrugs glumly.  "I mean we've got to keep digging into what Iris was working on.  Maybe we should look into the case Joe's working on too."

"You got his files back there too?" Cisco asks looking at him impressed.  "You're a sleuth."

Barry awkwardly scratches the back of his ear.  "Actually, I was kind of hoping to use your expertise on this one."

"Dude.  I don't hack into police files, just school sites and pirated movies…and cracked software…and traffic lights-only the one time though!"

"Cisco, we have to look into everything we possibly can."

"Why can't we start with Iris's stuff?  Or even her mom's women's business group-thing?  I could go to jail for hacking into police records."

"Only if you get caught, which you won't.  And you won't go to jail, just juvie at most."

"I don't want to go juvie either!" he splutters outraged.

"Cisco, I believe in you."

"Look, it's not like she's in some ditch somewhere."  Seeing how Barry's face turned ashen at the words, he hurries to reassure.  "I said she's  _ not _ !"

Barry feels his throat tightening, blinking rapidly.  "You don't know that," he says so quietly that Cisco barely hears him.

"Iris is a smart and tough chick, ok?  I'm sure there's an explanation to all this."

He wants to say that even Superman died once, but he couldn't think like that.  There was no point in the dark thoughts, it sure wasn't going to help him find Iris any sooner.  He clears his throat and looks to distract himself. 

"So what’s going on with you and Caitlin?"

Cisco barely acknowledges him and  clenches his eyes shut. "Ah goddamn, motion sickness." 

He closes the folder before resting his head against the back of his seat.  Barry glances over and quirks a brow. 

"I see you've avoided the question."

"No, I just chose not to answer because there is nothing to answer."

"You've been hanging out with her a lot lately."

"Yeah so?"

"And I know that she and Ronnie broke up after he went to college."

"Again, so?"

Barry lets out an exasperated sigh.  "Dude, you can tell me if there's something going on.  And anyway, I think it's good that you found someone after Cynthia."

"Well, I haven't.  We're just friends, hanging out is all.  Did you know she's into Star Trek?"

Barry shakes his head with a slight quirk of his lips. He didn’t miss the way Cisco's voice changed when he said that.

"I wouldn't know, just hung out with her that day at lunch."

Cisco nods.  "Yup, she's a real Trekkie.  Even bigger than I am!"

"What?  No, I don't think that's possible."

"And she's into Harry Potter and went as Hermione last Halloween.  She showed me a picture and actually got her hair done and everything.  Pretty fricken awesome."

"So fine, she's not your girlfriend.  When are you going to ask her out?"

"Barry, imma 'bout to throw your hotspot out the window."

***

Barry wakes with a jolt, gasping against the window his head was resting on.  "Agh, what was that?"

"Sorry man, didn't see the pothole."

"Don't kill my tires, please," he says blearily.  "Are we here?"

He looks out the window and sees it's gotten dark and that Cisco had pulled up right in front of the closed gates.  His brows furrow as he looks into the darkness. He quickly grabs Iris's tablet and sees that it’s dead. 

 

"Cisco, you were supposed to charge this after your phone!"

"Dude, my phones still only at sixty percent."

Barry quickly unplugs Cisco's phone and plugs in Iris's tablet, waiting for it to power on.  As soon as it does a minute later, he pulls up the app. His heart sinks in his chest when he sees the blinking dot still on Athens Fairground.  If she had her phone on her, then she shouldn't still be here. 

Cisco meets his eyes and Barry knows he has the same thought.  They both look out the windshield at the tall gate standing before them. 

"Well, we gotta find that phone.  One way or the other," Cisco murmurs. 

Barry nods before digging through the glove compartment.  He takes out his lunch pail where he kept sandwich bags and took two out. 

Cisco doesn't question him and they both step out of the car, looking toward the gate.  Barry starts walking toward it when Cisco calls out lowly. 

"Wait.  Get back here," he says, popping opening the trunk of the car.  He takes out a lug wrench and passes it to Barry. "Just a precaution."

He takes hold of a crowbar himself before shutting the trunk quietly.  He moves back toward the passenger seat where his bag sat on the floor.  He pulls out something small and puts it in his pocket before handing something over to him. 

Barry takes the object in his hand.  It was shaped like brass knuckles with metal pieces at the end.

"Is this what I think it is?"

Cisco closes the car door and turns to him, putting it on his fingers.  "Wear it like brass knuckles, flip the switch so the red light comes on and then press this button as you punch."

Barry looks up at Cisco with wide eyes, but he's already scanning the area.  He turns to Barry with a serious face. 

"Look, I know you want to find Iris, but we have to be smart about this, ok?"

Barry can feel the tension in his muscles and those old trepidations he felt of the dark as the kid made a momentary return in that moment.  But nothing mattered to him more than Iris—besides keeping Cisco safe—and if there was someone out there getting in their way, he'd be ready to fight.  He could barely think of the fact that danger may be awaiting them, too desperate to get to Iris. 

He lets his shoulders relax as he tightens his grip on the lug wrench.  His jaws set, he looks at Cisco and nods. He checks the tablet and begins moving toward the gait again. 

"We're only a few yards away." 

"Alright.  Now we just gotta make it past these gates."  Cisco steps up to the gate where the padlock rests against thick chains.  "Pretty old-school."

"We're not going to break through this chain.  Even if it is rusty, the metal's still in tact pretty well," Barry says, inspecting the chains with his light.

Cisco walks closer and grips the metal bars of the gate, looking through the back into the fairgrounds.  Dim lamps posted every few yard offered some light, but barely. They still needed their flashlight to see anything.  "What the hell are we going to find there?" he whispers so low, almost as though it was meant for just his ears. 

Barry looks at Cisco, his heart thumping in his chest.  Clear as day, he could see the concern on Cisco's face. He reaches over and grabs his arm to get his attention.

"Hey, I appreciate you doing this for me, but you don't have to.  Stay in the car and be on the lookout."

Cisco was already shaking his head before Barry could finish.  "Don't even go there. We're not wasting time arguing about this, I'm coming with you.  We need to move now." 

He moves toward the edge of the gate and hooks the crowbar to his belt before climbing up.  Barry watches his movements carefully, getting ready to catch him. But within moments, Cisco makes it to the top and it carefully making his way down. 

Barry soon follows suit, gripping the cement wall next to the gate and making his way up.  When he drops back down next to Cisco, he immediately looks at the tablet and follows the blue dot. 

"It's not telling me the exact location, but I think we're close enough to trying the alarm on the phone."

He pushes the button and stops.  His ears perk up, trying to catch even a the tiniest hint of sound when he hears it.  He immediately follows it, picking up the pace. 

"Barry, wait!" Cisco hisses, rushing to catch up.

But Barry can barely hear Cisco over his thundering heart in his throat.  He feels like he was slowly losing his breath, his chest aching the louder the sound got.  It only lead to more darkness and if he did find Iris, it wouldn't be good.

He lets out a low keening sound that escapes his lips against his will, the beeping sounding louder and louder…and then he stops.  Cisco catches up to him slightly out of breath and looks at Barry's stiff shoulders. He follows his wide eyes to something just a few feet away from them. 

Lying just in front of the teacup ride was a large object with a tarp over it.  It looked big enough to be a small body. 

Barry starts breathing fast, exhaling sharply as he slowly walks toward the figure.  Cisco put a restraining hand on his shoulder, his voice sounding odd when he spoke. 

"Barry."

But Barry numbly shrugs his hand off and kneels down before the tarp.  The beeping feels distant as a roaring sound fills his hears. Nothing else mattered but that figure before him.  He clenches his jaws before whipping the tarp away. 

A duffel bag lay open with what looked like miscellaneous supplies.  He looks beyond the bag and sees Iris's phone blinking bright just underneath the teacup ride.  He reaches for it before remembering the sandwich bag in his pocket. 

He gingerly gets the phone into the bag before shutting off the beeping through the thin plastic.  His heart patters in his chest, dread filling his body. 

"This doesn't mean anything," Cisco says.  "Iris could very well have lost her phone here and that's why she hasn't been responding."

Barry swallows thickly, nodding his head in jerky movements as he stands up.  "Only one way to find out."

"The trail is kind of cold, isn't it?" 

"I know that Iris was supposed to be going north.  If everything is ok, they should be passing by Athens again, but if not…maybe they're somewhere near Detroit by now."

Cisco sighs heavily and looks around.  "That's speculation at best and this place is giving me the heebie jeebies right now.  I swear, we just stepped into a horror movie. Let's go back to the car and check out more of Iris's notes and if there's anything on her phone."

Barry nods and turns toward the car when something catches his eyes. 

"Wait, wait," he says, blinking away the wetness in his eyes.  "Do you see that?"

Kneeling down, he flashes his light on the dirt below them and sees two marks.  They looked like wheels, but small as though a luggage was dragged here. 

"Was this place even open today?"

Barry frantically thinks back to what he saw online about the place.  "No. No, they closed on Friday and they're done for the fall. Let’s get back to the car.”

*******

_Barry sat waiting on Iris's stoop, checking his watch.  Iris was supposed to be here an hour ago and she wasn't responding to his texts.  He looks up and down the street wondering where she was._

_She finally pulls into the driveway and through the windshield, he can see her face was drawn.  When she steps out of the car, he can tell that she hadn't seen him yet, too lost in her thoughts._

_"Iris!" he calls out, standing up._

_She jerks her head up and looks at him in surprise.  "Barry? What are you doing here?"_

_He trots down the steps and meets her halfway.  "I was waiting for you. You said to meet you after school at your place."_

_"Oh shit, you're right."  She presses her hand to her forehead in realization.  "I'm so sorry, babe."_

_"Where were you?  I tried texting and calling."_

_"I was um, I was just at the hospital for some research and then I ended up visiting Fennel.  You know they have crappy service there."_

_Barry nods in agreement.  He knew all too well after visiting his father and all the times he'd gone to volunteer.  He reaches for her waist and pulls her into a kiss. "I've missed you," he mumbles against her lips._

_"Oh yeah?  In the whole hour you didn't see me?" she teases,  giving him an Eskimo kiss._

_"No, I mean…I feel like I barely see you these days.  You're so busy with classes and the paper and everything else you do at school," he chuckles._

_"I know, I miss you too," she says, kissing him again before taking his hand.  She leads him to her front door and unlocks the door._

_"It must be a big story you're working on.  You're only ever MIA when you've got something good."_

_Iris shrugs, making her way to the kitchen.  "Um, I don't know. I guess, we'll see."_

_"How was Fennel when you saw him?"_

_"Um."  She takes a moment before answering, taking out a carton of juice.  "He looked pretty sick, but getting better."_

_"Did he say what happened?"_

_"No, he just said they think it was some bacteria or algae that was in the lake by his grandparents' house.  He went out for a night swim while drunk and started feeling sick the next night."_

_"Wow.  That's pretty bad."_

_Iris reaches for their cups and pours juice in them without looking at him.  "Yeah, hope he gets better soon. He looked really off. Even for a sick person."_

_"They should definitely test out those waters.  If there's something bacterial there, it could spread to the next county."_

_"Oh uh, yeah I-I think he said something about them investigating it and blocking off the supply from it."_

_Barry watches her carefully, noting the way she fumbled, before moving from around the counter and ignoring the juice she held out, he wraps his arms around her and looks into her eyes.  "So what's this story you're writing?"_

_She falters for a moment before smiling brightly.  "You'll have to wait and see! Now, do you want to eat anything?  We have some leftovers from last night's dinner mom made."_

_Barry shakes his head, letting her evasiveness go as he lets himself get distracted by her lips and scent._

_"That's ok, I'm not hungry for food anyway."  And without another word, he leans in to kiss her as he take the juice out of her hand and  sits onto the counter._

*******

"Fennel," Barry says out of nowhere.  "We have to talk to Fennel."

"What?"

"He knows something.  I can feel it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that there's more mystery. I'm trying to cut the original story down to condense it and get it out quicker and even I need a refresher for the storyline that I had laid out every time I write for the story.

**Author's Note:**

> I seriously wrestled with myself as to whether or not I should post this and I had definitely decided against it until I came back to it weeks later and couldn't forget the idea. Maybe by posting this, I'm forcing my own hand to make sure I let myself explore the story. Anyways, we shall see what comes of it and I hope you guys enjoy it, at least!


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